A Liberal Assessment of Intercultural Relations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Various theories attempt to provide generalized solutions to the challenges arising out of plurality but no unanimous mechanism has been developed so far. Many questions related to cultural diversity can be addressed if theories are complemented by empirical research. This paper is an attempt in that direction. It evaluates the attitudes of cultural groups in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan, towards culture and the strategies for the management of plurality by conducting a field survey for collecting data through 2977 questionnaires and 80 personal interviews from 9 religio-linguistic groups. The paper makes Douglas Hartmann and Joseph Gerteis’s model of difference (2005) a theoretical classification and investigates which vision is appreciated most by the people of KP. The paper shows that the majority of the people in KP has a negative attitude towards assimilationism, cosmopolitanism and fragmented pluralism but a positive attitude towards interactive pluralism. After this research it was found that KP society is more tolerant and liberal than it was thought to be